State News Roundup

Twelve students have appealed the reversal of an administrative
judge's ruling that the implementation of New Jersey's new 23-credit
rule for athletic eligibility be postponed until next year.

Last December, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic
Association, which represents 431 public and private schools, voted to
require student athletes to complete at least 23 credits in the
previous semester to be eligible for competition. The requirement had
been 15 credits.

When the new rule went into effect in September, 12 students filed a
court challenge, claiming that they had not been properly notified of
the rule change.

An administrative-law judge agreed and ordered the state association
to delay implementation of the rule until 1985.

But Saul Cooperman, state education commissioner, overturned the
ruling on the grounds that the judge had misinterpreted a resolution by
the state board of education that requires all school districts to have
a policy on academic requirements by Sept. 1, 1985.

According to Robert F. Kanaby, executive director of the sports
association, school districts can set requirements stricter than the
association's but the 23-credit rule is the minimum allowed for
interscholastic competition.

The 23-credit rule was adopted, he said, to ensure that a student
"is on the road to meeting graduation requirements." At a minimum, he
said, students must complete 92 credits to receive a high-school
diploma in New Jersey.

State Superintendent of Schools Leonard J. DeLayo of New Mexico has
authorized the attorney general to ask the state supreme court to
review an appeals-court decision permitting a teacher convicted of
sexual contact with a minor to have his license renewed.

Geronimo Garcia was convicted of criminal sexual contact with a
child under the age of 13 in Bernalillo County in 1979, according to
Carolyn Wolf, assistant attorney general. The state board of education
has denied Mr. Garcia's request for recertification on the grounds that
the conviction was directly related to his employment.

Under the state's 1974 Criminal Defenders Employment Act, which
applies to all licensed professions, the licensing board has the power
to revoke or deny a license when an individual is convicted of a crime
related to his or her profession, Ms. Wolf said.

But last October, in Reese v. Board of Pharmacy, the New Mexico
Supreme Court handed down a revised interpretation of the 1974 law that
requires the licensing board to recertify individuals if they can prove
they have been rehabilitated. Under the ruling, the board can introduce
evidence to prove that a licensee has not been rehabilitated.

Earlier this month, the New Mexico court of appeals ruled that Mr.
Garcia proved that he had been rehabilitated, and the state board
failed to show that Mr. Garcia had not been sufficiently rehabilitated
to resume his teaching career, according to Ms. Wolf.

Mr. DeLayo has held that returning Mr. Garcia to the classroom would
present a risk to the children. "Mr. DeLayo strongly feels that
teachers are different than pharmacists," said Ms. Wolf. "Whereas the
public often has their choice of pharmacists, they often do not have
their choice of teachers."

Mr. Garcia--who was convicted of sexual relations with his
stepdaughter, not with a student--was given three years' probation and
received an early discharge in 1981. His lawyer was unavailable for
comment.

More than 38,000 of the 41,000 teachers and administrators eligible
for Tennessee's career-ladder plan have applied to the program, state
officials reported last week.

"We are extremely pleased with the tremendous enthusiasm teachers
are showing for the career ladder," said Robert L. McElrath, state
commissioner of education. "It is a sign that teachers have accepted
the career ladder wholeheartedly and an indication of their commitment
to the 'Better Schools' effort."

The career-ladder program, one of the first in the nation, is part
of a larger educational reform program adopted by the legislature this
year.

State officials attribute the success of the career ladder to
educators' "confidence" in the plan and the support it has received
from teachers' unions, said Mark Howard, a spokesman for the state
department of education.

Under the proposal, teachers have several options for reaching the
first level of the five-step ladder, including participation in a
40-hour skills-building course, taking the Tennessee Career Ladder
Test, or taking the National Teacher Examinations. More than half of
the applicants have applied for the skills-building program, Mr. Howard
said.

Completing one option places a teacher on the first step of the
career ladder and brings a $1,000 bonus.

Vol. 04, Issue 08

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